5. Sage

5

Sage

M y SUV bumped along the dirt road as it trudged up the driveway to Bottom of the Buckle Ranch. Avery couldn’t sit still in the back seat, going on and on about how she hoped one of the horses here looked like Boots, the one in her drawing.

I wasn’t sure what Callan looked like, but I recognized Bailey, Lettie’s fiance, right away as I came to a stop in front of the white barn.

Avery was already unbuckled and out the door by the time I had my seat belt halfway off. To say she was excited was an understatement.

“Bailey! I get to ride a horse today!” she exclaimed to him as she ran in his direction.

I got out, not bothering to lock my car behind me.

Bailey offered me a smile as he turned his attention to Avery, who came skidding to a stop in front of him in her pink cowgirl boots. “A horse, huh?”

She nodded quickly. “Yeah. Do you think I can ride your horse?”

He took the piece of straw out of his mouth, flicking it to the ground. “Nova’s a little too advanced for you, Aves, but I’m sure Callan has the perfect horse just for you.”

“Just for me?” Avery asked as I came to a stop a few feet behind her, taking in the ranch. It was beautiful out here, with three barns, multiple arenas, and pastures that stretched for miles. The bright green grass swayed in the slight wind like waves in an ocean. The sound filled the air, the pine trees swaying at the tips where they towered over the land.

Where was this when I was having a terrible day? One breath of this air and I’d forget all about the stress. It smelled like pine and oak mixed with the scent of the various animals around the ranch. The Idaho breeze was calming, relaxing my stiff body instantly.

“Hmm, it might be. Can you keep a secret?” Bailey asked Avery, crouching to her height.

She nodded again, and he leaned closer. “I think he might put you on Lettie’s horse.”

Avery’s face lit up. “Really?”

Bailey nodded with a wink, then stood, ruffling her hair as he faced me. “Callan will be out in a minute, he’s just finishing up with a student. ”

“Thanks, Bailey,” I said.

I glanced behind me at the white farmhouse, then heard boots scuffling on the dirt. I turned to find Avery running toward the fence lining one of the pastures.

“Avery!” I called out, hurrying after her.

“Yes, Mama?” she asked like she hadn’t just run away from me.

“You can’t run off like that. We don’t know this place.”

“We don’t bite,” a male voice said to my right.

I turned to find a man wearing a tan cowboy hat, light wash jeans, and a gray t-shirt that hugged his body. The same man that I spilled coffee all over in the cafe. If he recognized me, he didn’t give any indication.

He stood about five feet away with a hand casually slung over the fence. His eyes moved to Avery. “You ready for your lesson?”

Avery spun so fast that her hair whipped out behind her. She beamed up at him from where she stood next to me. “Yes! I’m so excited.”

“You’re Callan?” I asked, feeling a little dumbstruck. My hair was in a ponytail, my plaid shirt hanging open to reveal my white tank top underneath. I’d chosen sneakers and flared jeans to complete the outfit, but now I felt like I looked a little homeless compared to him. Not that he was wearing anything fancy, but at first glance, he was definitely the kind of good-looking that could get away with wearing anything and he’d still be striking.

He nodded, holding a hand out for me to shake it. “My apologies, I thought you knew. Callan Bronson. ”

I shook it. “Sage McKinley.”

“Pretty name,” Callan remarked as I let go of his hand. It may have just been the sun, but I swore his cheeks turned a pinkish hue. “And you are?” he asked, turning to Avery.

“Avery,” she supplied eagerly.

He brushed his hands on his jeans, almost like he was nervous. “Avery. Just as pretty a name as your mother's. Ready to get started?”

She nodded and he waved her along as he turned to head for the barn. Avery practically skipped alongside him. I stayed a few feet back, crossing my arms as I watched the two of them ahead of me.

His dirty blonde hair curled just below his hat, showing off his tan neck. His biceps were that perfect size—just enough to stretch the sleeves of his shirt.

I hoped he didn’t look at me the way I was studying him right now. I looked like I just rolled out of bed and decided to show up. I cursed myself for not putting on any makeup. But why did it matter? I wasn’t here to impress anyone.

“Can I know what color the horse is?” Avery asked as they entered the barn.

“I could tell you, but that would spoil the surprise,” Callan said as he grabbed a halter off the hook by the door.

“I hope it looks like Boots,” Avery murmured, more to herself than to Callan.

“Who’s Boots?” he asked as they made their way down the aisle .

“My horse I drew. I hope I can have a horse just like him someday.”

My heart sank. I wished I could give Avery everything she wanted right when she wanted it. Call it spoiled, but my mom-heart hated not being able to give her everything she dreamed of. She was obsessed with horses, always drawing them or playing with her horse figurines. I’d make it happen for her one day, I just didn’t know when that one day would come.

“With determination like that, I think it’ll happen,” Callan told her.

Avery came to a stop beside him outside of a stall. “Can I show you my drawing next time? I forgot to bring it with me.”

“I’d love that." He unlatched the door and slid it open while I stood across the aisle, giving them their space. I liked seeing Avery be independent, but I also didn’t want to get in their way.

“This is Lettie’s horse, Red. He’s a little old, but he loves taking kids around the arena, so I think he’d be perfect for you today. What do you think?” He looked down at her to see her eyes practically bulging out of her head in the shape of two hearts as she stared up at the massive animal. The horse had a dark, rich coat that faded to a lighter shade throughout his body, but his head and legs were a deep red.

“He’s so pretty! Yes, I’d love to ride him!” She paused, moving her gaze up to Callan. “You don’t think Lettie will be mad, right? ”

Callan’s little sister, Lettie, came into Bell Buckle Brews frequently enough that she and Avery knew each other pretty well now.

“She won’t be mad, I promise. Then when you see her next, you can tell her all about your ride.” Callan took a step into the stall, the horse letting out a snort as he lowered his head slightly, like he knew what to do without Callan asking.

He slipped the rope halter over his nose and situated the knot, then patted Red’s neck. “You want to lead him out?” he asked Avery.

“Can I?” she questioned, seeming a bit unsure of herself.

“Of course. He’s really sweet. I know he seems big and scary, but he’s a big softie on the inside.” He gave the horse a pat just above his shoulder for emphasis.

I couldn’t help the smile from pulling at my lips. Callan was already showing that he was good with kids, but I guess he had to be when he worked with them daily.

He held the lead rope out to Avery and she grabbed it gently. “Do I just walk?”

He nodded. “I’ll walk beside you so you know where to go.”

They both stepped out of the stall and I stayed put, waiting for them to pass with the horse. I kept a good ten feet back from Red’s rear as we made our way down the aisle. Avery was talking Callan’s ear off, glancing over her shoulder at Red every few steps. She even shot me a smile when her eyes caught on me. I gave her a thumbs up in return .

After they came around a corner, Callan helped Avery clip Red into cross ties, the horse standing patiently as they hooked a rope onto either side of his halter. They got to work saddling him together. Avery did her best to take in every bit of information, listening intently to every instruction he gave her.

Once Red was all tacked up, Avery picked out a helmet and we headed out to the arena. I stayed on the outside, leaning against the fence as I watched them.

Callan brought a mounting block over, holding Avery’s hand to help her up the steps. He didn’t seem annoyed at having to walk her through every step. If anything, it seemed like he was more than happy about it.

Avery’s butt plopped in the saddle and Callan got to work adjusting her stirrups. “Mama, look!”

I smiled at her, tears welling in my eyes at seeing my little girl on a horse for the first time. “I see, Aves! You look so good up there.”

“Like a cowgirl?” she asked as Cal came around the horse to work on the other stirrup.

“Like my little cowgirl.” Seeing my baby doing something she always wanted to do pulled my heart right out of my chest and set in directly in the palm of my hand. Avery was my entire world. I’d do anything to see that smile on her face every day.

** *

About an hour later, after Callan had led Avery around the arena a few times, we headed back into the barn to untack Red. Avery was telling Callan all about her friends at school and how they’d be so jealous when they heard she got to ride a horse. Even as he put his hands under her armpits, lifting her out of the saddle, she kept rambling on.

To say Avery was ecstatic about her ride was an understatement.

I stood off to the side, watching them as Callan worked to take the saddle off the red roan horse, setting it on the stand by the cross ties.

“You want to brush the dirt off of him?” he asked Avery.

“Can I?”

“Of course. He’ll love it.” Callan dug through a black bucket, then pulled out a pink brush, handing it to her. “Stroke from front to back all over. I’ll be right here if you need help.”

Avery got to work brushing the horse as he stood there patiently, clearly loving the attention. Callan came over to stand beside me, leaning on his hands folded behind him against the wall.

“Thank you for this,” I said, not taking my gaze off of Avery as she hummed to herself.

“She’s a natural.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him facing me, so I glanced over at him, then back to Avery. He was studying me, and I had the biggest feeling he was recalling the coffee incident .

“I’m sorry about the coffee. I didn’t mean to come off as rude in any way, I was just having a bad day and—”

“It’s all good, Sage,” he interrupted before I could ramble myself into a hole. “I didn’t think you spilled it on me on purpose. After all, I was the one behind the counter when I shouldn’t have been.”

I turned to face him as Avery reached as high as she could to try to brush the horse’s back. “Regardless, I shouldn’t have been so…short-tempered.”

He pushed off the wall, grabbing a mounting block from beside him, and brought it over to Avery. He helped her step up onto it so she could reach Red’s back easier, then returned to his spot next to me, leaning back against the wall, like him helping her was second nature.

That did something to my insides and I hated it.

“We all have bad days sometimes,” Callan said, jumping right back into the conversation with ease. “I wasn’t at my best either, so I apologize for that as well.”

My fingers played with the hem of my flannel as I looked down at my shoes, not sure what to say to him.

“How’s your finger?”

I glanced at the bandage wrapped around the cut. “It’s healing quickly. Nothing more than a scrape, really.”

He dipped his chin. “Good. Do you have a day that works best for you to bring her back?”

My eyes jumped to his. “I can’t afford lessons. ”

He shook his head, his brow furrowing slightly under the brim of his hat. “It’s on me.”

“I can’t not pay you for riding lessons, Callan.” There was no way I’d allow that.

His eyes moved back and forth between mine slowly like he was thinking of a way around this. “How about you bring pastries, and I consider that your payment.”

I let out a disbelieving scoff. “A seventy-dollar riding lesson is not equal to a three-dollar pastry.”

“Then bring some for the volunteers. They’d love it.” A lot of people in town volunteered for Bottom of the Buckle Horse Rescue. His parents had started it well before their children were born and kept it going all these years, saving countless horses' lives. If you lived in Bell Buckle, you knew about the rescue.

“And your family,” I decided.

He nodded once, turning his attention back on Avery. “And my family.”

“Mondays work best for me, but I can make other days work, too.” Bell Buckle Brews was closed on Mondays, so I typically used the day to catch up on chores or yard work, but all of that could be set aside to bring Avery out here for an hour or two.

“How about we play it by ear?”

“I’m sure Avery will take advantage of that. She’d be here every day if I let her.”

“All done!” Avery announced as she stepped down from the mounting block .

Callan pushed off the wall, closing the few steps to her and taking the brush from her. “Did you get all the dirt?”

She nodded, confidence shining in her response. “Every teeny tiny speck.”

He leaned close to Red’s face, wrapping an arm under his chin to scratch the opposite cheek. “That true, Red?” he asked in a whisper.

The horse pawed his foot in response.

“See? Even he knows it,” Avery declared.

Callan took a step back, nodding like he was contemplating if it was true. “Okay, I’ll take your guys' word for it. Do you want to help me put him out in the pasture?”

“Yes, please.”

Callan unhooked the cross ties and handed the lead rope to Avery. The two of them walked side by side down the aisle of the barn again, the horse’s hooves clomping on the matts as they headed outside and I followed behind.

Once we were at the gate to the pasture, Callan took the lead rope from Avery. “Sometimes they get a little excited about being out here, so I’ll take his halter off. Why don’t you stand by the fence right here?” He motioned to the spot.

Avery nodded and came to stand a few feet from Callan, her pink boots kicking up dust. She watched as Callan opened the gate to the pasture, then undid the knot on the rope halter. As soon as it was free, Red took off at a gallop into the field, making his presence known to all the other horses with a whinny.

Callan latched the gate as Avery watched the horse join the others.

“Thank you for letting me ride him, Mr. Bronson,” Avery said as she turned to Callan.

“Of course, Avery. And you can call me Callan, okay?”

“Okay,” she responded.

“What day do you want to come back?” I asked Avery, leaving it up to her.

Her jaw dropped as she gasped, like she couldn’t contain her excitement at the thought of coming back. “I get to ride again?”

I nodded.

She squealed and charged me, wrapping her arms around my waist. I stumbled back a step, a light laugh escaping me. “Tomorrow!” she shouted, her voice muffled against my lightweight flannel.

“We have to go to the cafe tomorrow, but how about the next day?”

Avery looked up at me. “Yes!” She turned to Callan, her arms still wrapped around me. “Can we come the day after tomorrow?”

I knew that giving her the option would lead to this, but he didn’t seem to mind at all.

He smiled at her and it was like everything in the universe stopped and narrowed down on that look alone. “That sounds perfect to me.”

It sounded perfect to me, too.